My thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. Will! I had promised him I would go with him to a restaurant supply auction in Metairie. We needed new trays, new chairs to replace the constantly fraying ones, and a sturdier prep table as ours had become mysteriously tippy. Will was also on the lookout for a dough mixer and a deep-fryer so we could start making our own pastries and maybe even beignets. Normally he would have asked Tracina to go with him, but her ankle was still on the mend. She didn’t need crutches anymore, but she was nevertheless limping around the dining room, making Will feel guilty about the accident. She even jokingly suggested that had she not been dating him, she might have sued. I’m not sure she was kidding. I was to be Will’s substitute girlfriend for the day.
“Be right there!” I yelled.
I shoved the envelope into my folder, slipped the folder between my mattresses and raced to the door, interrupting Will’s second knock. He had on one of the shirts I loved best on him, a muted red button-up that Tracina had bought. As much as she bugged me, I had to admit she was getting him to dress a lot better, had even convinced him to cut his hair a bit shorter.
“Hi! Right. Come in.”
“I’m double-parked. Just come down when you’re ready. You didn’t hear my honking?”
“Sorry, no, I was … vacuuming.”
Will glanced around my disheveled place, my unvacuumed living room. “Right,” he said. “I’ll be downstairs.”
Will was distant and distracted on the short trip, changing the radio station whenever a song he didn’t like came on, or if a good one was followed by a loud commercial.
“You seem jumpy,” I said.
“I’m a little off, I guess.”
“What’s got you feeling off?”
“What do you care?”
“What do you mean ‘what do you care’? I’m your friend. Thought I’d ask.”
Will was silent for half a mile after that. I eventually turned away from him to take in the scenery. Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. “Are things with you and Tracina okay? I saw the little tiff over the car the other day.”
“They’re peachy, Cassie. Thank you for asking.”
Whoa. I couldn’t remember a time when Will had been so short with me. “Okay, then,” I said. “I won’t pry anymore. But if I knew you were going to be such crappy company today, I wouldn’t have come. It’s Sunday. My day off, remember? I thought this would be kind of fun, but—”
“I’m sorry,” he interrupted. “You’re not having fun? I should work a bit harder so you can have fun. Should I also stop interrupting your conversations with your new fun friends at work?”
He was talking about Matilda. I had asked her not to come by the restaurant so much, but the other day, after our talk about Jesse, Will had made a remark about how I shouldn’t sit with customers when I’m working.
“She’s a regular that I’m getting to know as a friend, is all. What is so wrong with that?”
“A regular customer who buys you jewelry to match her own?” He glanced over at the bracelet resting against my thigh. I loved its hammer finish, its pale gold sheen. It was so pretty, I couldn’t help but wear it once I’d started to collect charms.
“This?” I said, holding up my wrist. “This. I … got it from a friend of hers. A friend of hers who makes them. I admired it and I wanted one too. That’s what girls do, Will.” I hoped I sounded convincing.
“How much did it cost? It looks like eighteen-karat gold.”
“I saved for it. But that’s really none of your business.”
Will sighed and then went silent again.
“Am I not allowed to talk to our customers now, is that it? Because I gotta say, I work hard and that restaurant means a lot to me too. You know that I’d do anything to—”
“I’m sorry.”
“—to—”
“Listen to me, Cassie. I am sorry. For real. I don’t know why I’m so … Things are good with Tracina. But she’s looking for … She wants to take things to the next level, and I’m not sure I’m ready, you know? So yes, I’m a little antsy. I’m a little on edge about things.”
“Are you talking about marriage?” I nearly choked out the word. Why? I had rejected Will. Of course he should marry the girl he loves, right?
“No! God no. I mean like living together … but yeah, eventually marriage is what she wants.”